A huge MISTAKE people MAKE: they act as if God is to Bow down to them! No Christian would say that with their words, but it’s true. We love the story of the Fiery Furnace from last week because it is about the presence of Jesus Christ in the fires of life. God is with you. God will protect you. God will give peace in the storms of life. Daniel 4 emphasizes the flip side of the coin of God’s character that is strikingly different. He is with you in the fires of life and the other side of the coin: God is High and Lifted Up. He is above all. He is all powerful. These two back to back chapters of Dan. 3 and 4 express the twin truths of God that describe God as the most amazing God of all. He is personal/He is All powerful. He serves us/He is to be worshipped.

There is blessing reserved for the brave that the weak never know. At the end of the day, I want to be able to hold my head high ~ I served Christ. I stood firm. I did my best with God’s guidance, by His spirit. When Jesus Christ returns and I stand before the Lord in judgment, I can imagine no greater words than to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt. 25:23). That is up to God, of course. I know I am a sinner and do not deserve to hear such lofty words, but with God’s help, I will do my best to remain faithful. In Daniel 3, three young men are thrown into a blazing hot furnace for directly disobeying the command of the King, which was contrary to their faith in God. It is significant they do not escape the fire// instead// they are kept safe from the flames. I love the two words the King uses when he discovers the flames are not destroying the three men: UNBOUND and UNHARMED (Dan. 3:25).

Focus on seeing the world through the lens of the Bible! The Bibles way of viewing the world is a beginning with creation, sin entering the world and humankind falling away from God, God finding a way to invite people to reconcile with him ultimately through Jesus Christ dying on the cross to forgive sins, and finally history as we know it will end with Jesus coming again. Daniel is a big picture book, reminding us that the story of God redeeming the world is still unfolding, but ultimately God will establish His Kingdom forever and ever. We are now in an age when God’s great desire is to rescue those who are willing to receive him…. A towering truth is expressed by the three friends in Dan. 3:17: “God is able to deliver us.” No matter what you face in life, no matter your situation, the Bible teaches us that God is able to deliver… and as you read the whole paragraph, there is an innate trust that no matter the specific way he chooses to answer, we are to put our trust in Him that he knows what he is doing… three friends of Daniel, who are central to Daniel 3, make God’s character and purpose abundantly clear. The King is imposing on Sharach, Meshach and Abednego a threat of death if they do not bow to the golden image, and this is their response: READ Dan. 3:15-18.

The Bible is the Word of God given to communicate truth and guide us through life. The Bible is living, Holy Spirit inspired, for yesterday and today. Daniel speaks to a people living in exile, overwhelmed, confused… I have a book with a title that makes a good summary of the message to the people in Daniel’s day/our day: “Your God is Too Small.” Daniel, through visions and dreams, enlarges the truth of God…. If your God is too small, you will get discouraged, compromise, give up…. enlarge your vision of God. What happens to Daniel has parallels to us. Daniel and the Jewish people are in exile in a foreign land, taken as prisoners to Babylon. Today in the U.S, it is as if people of faith are captives. You could title Daniel, how to find freedom while in prison! Daniel was taken to a new home. In our case, we are no longer a nation seeking to uphold the values of Jewish and Christian teachings! We are exiles in our homeland.

Daniel is a captive of Babylon in a foreign land. Everything is against him. What more could possibly go wrong? In today’s Bible verses he has a death threat from a moody and unreasonable King that is demanding the humanly impossible. Yet here he is at the end of today’s scripture in Dan. 2:20-23 singing, “Praise be to the name of God forever and ever…” It’s an incredible turn of events that is directly attributable to Daniel’s faith, optimism, confidence, and determination to trust completely in God. How did this confident song of praise and thanksgiving come about?

Carl Crouse, Pastor

At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights.

In general, the previous Sunday's sermon will be posted by Tuesday afternoon.